SERENDIPITY
by beingxwest
Summary: Uma went after Ben to get to Mal. Mal went after Ben because she loved him. (AU where Uma lets the other pirates torture Ben, because just getting to Mal isn't enough.) SERENDIPITY: finding something good without looking for it.
1. FILIPENDULOUS

**_FILIPENDOLULOUS : hanging by a thread_**

 **MAL**

Mal couldn't believe this.

She had left, and she had caused this.

Ben was tied to the mast of Uma's ship, clearly beaten, blood and bruises covering his skin. His clothes were visibly torn in some places, even from where she was standing twenty or so feet away. He was standing, despite all of this, but Mal realized that he was unconscious after a few minutes of watching him.

And it was her fault.

"They're here!"

Harry Hook's shout broke Mal from her reverie. Uma's eyes met hers only seconds later-

-and, apparently, did not seem to like what they found there.

Uma grabbed Gil's arm and pointed up to where the new arrivals stood on the dock, smiling in a way that did nothing to remove the realization from her eyes. Mal was absolutely livid, seething with rage, but completely calm on the outside. Uma had seen this only once before from the purple-haired sorceress-it had been the reason that they had chosen to leave, the very same day that Mal and the others had left for Auradon.

A twisted pleasure grew in Mal's chest at the sight of Uma's discomfort. It was obvious that the pirate queen was unsure of the witch's wrath, what it might bring-clearly, she was afraid of whatever emotional response she had brought out of her old rival. Perhaps she had not known that Mal truly loved Ben. Maybe she had thought that Mal would only show to save face in Auradon-thus proving Uma's point.

 _It doesn't matter what she thought was going on. What she thought I would do,_ Mal reminded herself. _She deserves to be afraid of what I might do to her._

Her magic sparked inside her. Evie, sensing the change, put a hand on her arm and muttered, "M, if you lose it, considering the exact point of your aggression at the moment, there's a very good chance whatever you do is going to go straight back at Ben." Evie's tone was as clipped as it ever became, gentle as it always seemed to sound. For all Mal could tell by her best friend's (her sister's) voice, someone had messed up a dress at one of her dress fittings, or messed with the stationary on her desk.

Evie was always so calm and collected and even this, _even this_ , when Mal knew that Evie saw Ben as one of her best friends, held him responsible for saving their lives and giving them this second chance, couldn't rattle her sister.

Sometimes Mal wished she was like that. Wished she was as logical or strategical as she had seen Evie be, instead of this angry, raw aggression that seeped out of her when things like this happened. But Evie's presence reminded her that they both brought things to the table, including everyone behind them, and where Evie was the brains of the operation, Mal, too, could strategize.

But Mal was also raw power, magic that was nearly impossible to control, that she could feel just at her skin on days like this.

Ben knew that, she reminded herself. Ben knew how out of control she felt sometimes. Ben knew that, just like Evie and Jay and Carlos. And just like Evie and Jay and Carlos, he had never looked at her any differently for it.

There was so much of this to deal with-the exchange, the escape. The negotiation, because nothing with Uma was easy. And the Daughter of Maleficient knew about all of this, and her and Evie had had a plan to pull it all off, but somehow Mal could not make her lips move. She couldn't take her eyes move off of Ben's collapsed form, couldn't remember what she was supposed to say, couldn't think past the hand apiece that Jay and Evie had placed on either of her shoulders and the King unconscious on the deck below.

After a brief discussion behind her, it seemed to have been decided that Evie would speak with Uma. (It was clear that Mal was much too angry, and she would only make things worse, probably.) "We brought you what you wanted, Uma," Evie called from behind her. "Give us what we wanted"-Mal was so thankful that Evie was doing this; she never would have thought to talk like that. Yelling that they had the wand (even if it wasn't the real one) and Uma had the King of Auradon so many feet in front of them would only draw more attention. More attention only meant more people to fight their way out through-"and we'll be on our way."

Evie's voice sounded cold. Downright nasty. Mal was suddenly taken back to their first weekend at Auradon Prep, right after they'd left the Isle.

Back home-they'd still called the Isle "home" right after their arrival-they'd gone to parties and rampages across the city, but there didn't seem to be a scene like that in Auradon-or, at least, one that they were invited to.

So they'd stayed inside all weekend, Evie doing her homework and meticulously copying over her notes (sticky notes, highlighters, multi-colored pens) and Mal sorting through that spellbook. Evie had managed to convince her best friend to accept some assistance with her own homework, though, and eventually put together their own girls' night. Evie had painted Mal's nails a vivid purple, and they'd watched TV-it was better in Auradon after all-and talked about boys. Doug had started talking to Evie and Mal was going to spell Ben into taking her to his coronation.

Looking back, Mal knew that Evie had not smiled at her plan to put a spell on Ben-Evie had somehow known what would happen as a result, though, and her best friend's faith in her and Ben made Mal stand up a little straighter.

This would be okay. It had to be.

They survived their parents and duties and obligations. They survived falling in love. They survived Ben's grand idea to bring the VKs to Auradon, his coronation, and these cotillion plans.

And if they managed to survive this one too, Mal would go to cotillion with Ben, no questions asked.

Mal would go to _Mars_ or the _moon_ or _anywhere_ with Ben, if they made it off the Isle.

·§·§·§·

The fight was messy.

They had almost handled it diplomatically, really. But Uma wanted a demonstration of the wand's powers, and, because they didn't have the actual wand, they had tried to stall. One of Uma's goons accused them of lying, and the entire situation fell apart.

The fighting broke out almost automatically, the guys behind them falling into their old habits, old fighting styles and techniques. It was effortless, the kind of thing your body doesn't just forget.

Several of the goons came barrelling towards Mal, but she simply shoved them down with her magic. It was only when she realized that Harry and Gil had gone for Ben that she moved. The violet-haired Daughter of Maleficient created a path of her own, forcing anyone in front of her out of her way.

"Hook, either you get away from him or you go swimming!"

"We can help with that!" two voices yelled from behind her. Mal and Uma's two underlings looked up just in time to see the pirate queen being flung from the side of the boat and into the water. Evie's shocked voice reached them from where she was on the other side of the ship, and she was beside Mal in an instant, Lonnie on her heels.

Harry and Gil shared a look, ran, and dived after their leader.

Mal took a step forward, but stopped haflway. She wanted so badly to go to Ben, to pull him into her arms, but what if she hurt him? What if all of this had changed his mind about her? What if he thought she was just as bad as Uma? Or the other kids from the Isle?

Mulan's daughter put a hand on Mal's arm. "We have to get him out of here," Lonnie muttered. Her eyes flicked between the King and the rest of the ship. "Up the ramp and back across the dock. If we hurry..." Out of it as she was, Mal was sure that the light in Lonnie's eyes was real-another strategist running on adhrenaline.

Evie put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, lightly shoving her forward. _She can read minds now,_ Mal thought to herself. Still, the Daughter of the Evil Queen's voice was quiet in her ear. "Go to him. He looks pretty beaten up." She paused, stepping forward to study Mal's face. The Daughter of Maleficent knew that look-those eyes could make you feel like she was staring into your soul. Evie must not have liked what she found, because a handful of seconds later, Evie shook her head and continued, "If I was him, you're the only person I would really want to see."

The violet-haired girl shot an ill-aimed and half-hearted glare in her best friend's general direction, but moved forward anyway.

Mal waited until she was only a couple of inches from her boyfriend to say anything. "Ben?" He didn't answer. "Ben, are you in there?"

Nothing.

She was right in front of him now. Close enough to touch. And he was covered in bruises, blood, wounds scarring over-it looked so much worse this close to him than on the dock. Her stomach dropped just looking at him, her insides lurching with the impulse to pull him to her.

There'd been a time, right after they really started dating, when Mal wasn't sure how she was supposed to protect him from her and the other VKs' collective pasts. They'd all been through so much growing up, and, at first, they had left out the most gruesome details when conveying this to Ben. Mal hadn't had a clue about how to tell him that he could be in danger because of her, even after her mother was shrunk to what Carlos called "action-figure-size". There was always worse on the Isle-and she'd been terrified that that "worse" would get off of the Isle and come and find them in Auradon.

It appeared that it had indeed come for them (even if it really hadn't _come_ for them)-and Ben had paid the price, even though Mal was the one who ran away.

 _What do I do?_ She asked herself. She didn't have any idea.

Ben's head had dropped forward, probably when he'd lost consciousness, and so Mal lifted his chin with her fingers until he was looking up. He seemed to wince, but maybe she was imagining it. _Maybe he's just asleep?_ She shook her head, still holding his head up, and thought to herself, _With all the fighting going on? He'd never sleep through that. He's got to be unconscious._

She still didn't know what to say, but she had to say something. Something. _Say something. Something. Something. Something._

She settled for: "We're gonna get you out of this, okay? Back to Auradon, back to your family." Mal motioned for Lonnie to come over and directed her to the ropes holding Ben to the mast. The Daughter of Mulan raised her sword. Mal put her hands on Ben's shoulders as gingerly as she could to keep him from falling to the deck when he was freed. Lonnie brought her blade down, and the King fell forward into Mal's arms.

Ben groaned ( _is he in pain? Or did that scare him?)_ , and Mal nearly cried out ( _he's awake, he's awake_ ), but managed to stop herself. "Ben," she whispered, "it's okay now. You're safe. I've got you."

He nodded into her shoulder, and she could've sworn that her heart shattered in her chest.


	2. INSOUCIANT

_**INSOUCIANT:**_ _ **free from worry, concern, or anxiety**_

 **BEN**

Ben felt fingers slip underneath his chin, lift his head up.

Icy cold fear slithered down his spine and through his veins. If he could've flinched, he probably would've, he knew-but he was too weak to move on his own anyway. He might have winced-his neck was so sore from the position he'd been in that it felt like every muscle between the back of his head and his shoulder blades had shredded into bits with the movement. If he could've cried out, he would've done that too, no matter how un-kingly it was.

He'd only regained consciousness a few minutes (maybe it was longer? His perception of time had been twisted up since his time below deck and above deck and unconscious were never in a recognizable pattern) before. His hearing didn't seem to be damaged, thankfully, and he'd heard Uma yelling and some of the pirates screaming at the tops of their lungs-battle cries, he'd realized. He wasn't sure why, though, until he heard the clashing of metal all around him. _Swords,_ he'd realized. Someone was battling the pirate captain and her crew. Maybe for the ship, maybe for the fun of it, maybe because of an old rivalry.

Mal had told him about plenty of those.

Some of the fear dissipated as he remembered what Mal had said about the turf wars of the Isle. "Some of them fight each other for sport, make up, and do it all over again. Some of them have had problems with each other our whole lives, or if someone new takes over, sometimes they like to prove themselves by duking it out with another group." She'd chosen her words so carefully-worried that he would see her as a monster for taking part in that, because the way her hand had been squeezing his said that she had a lot of memories of that particular part of growing up on the Isle-but the word 'duking' was so Jay that he laughed aloud.

Her voice continued to play through his mind-it was the only source of calm he'd had at all while Uma had allowed her crew to see who could hit him the hardest (the first mate won that one every time) or ask him if he'd thought that Mal would come for him (he'd said _yes_ , because of course she would, but Uma didn't like that answer-each time he said yes, he was slapped across the face or thrown or dragged from one side of the deck to the other).

The hand that was holding his head upright was still there when a voice said, "We're going to get you out of this, okay? Back to Auradon, back to your family."

If he hadn't been tied to the mast of the ship (that's where he thought he was, at least-he could feel warmth that could only have been the sun beating down on him, and the wood at his back wasn't as rough as it was where he'd been held below deck), he would've fallen to his knees in relief.

 _Mal. Mal. Mal._

She really had come for him. She was really-

Her hands were on his shoulders, then, and there were one-two-three snipping sounds, and then Ben was falling forward. He was too weak to stop or even catch himself, and now dizzy from the fall, but arms wrapped around him. His shoulders suddenly _hurt_ -like someone had tried to pull them from his torso with their bare hands-and his ankle felt wobbly and ached as his fall was put to a stop. There was a groan-the sound of someone in a lot of pain. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was him.

Mal's hold on him tightened, and it should've hurt (he thought that he had at least one fractured rib), but it was the only thing that didn't. He suddenly hurt all over, like whatever adrenaline had been keeping him from feeling the worst of his injuries was gone, because now Mal was here, and he didn't have to worry about it anymore.

 _Mal. Mal. Mal._

One of Mal's arms wrapped around his back. Her free hand rested on the back of his neck. His head was resting on her shoulder, somehow, and he inhaled as much as he could stand with the ache in his side.

 _Mal. Mal. Mal._

 _"_ Ben," she murmured. Her voice was right in his ear. Her breath warmed the side of his face. "It's okay now. You're safe." Ben wondered for a brief second why she would say that-he _knew_ that he was safe, she was right there. Of course he was safe. "I've got you."

Hearing her voice was an unbelievable relief-so much more than just imagining it. He didn't think he was imagining the trembling of her voice. As such, trying not to worry her anymore than he probably already had, he forced himself to nod into her shoulder. The muscles in his neck burned.

But that was okay, because- _Mal. Mal. Mal._

Her arms tightened around him some more. She turned her head away and said something to someone else. Ben couldn't quite make out what they were talking about, even after the person replied.

There were more voices, then, and they were closer to him, and a hand on his right shoulder. "You're gonna be just fine, Auradon." Jay sounded so worried. Ben imagined that he was running a hand through his hair-his nervous habit-and shaking his head. "I have to kick your butt on the field in a few months, ya know, and it really doesn't help if..." Jay's voice trailed off, and Ben wondered if he'd imagined the tremble he'd heard in his voice.

Ben knew what the end to that sentence was, though. He didn't have to guess about that part. He knew how badly he was hurt. Knew that his injuries were probably much worse than the pain he was feeling, based on how out of it he knew he was. The only reason he wasn't bleeding out on the deck right now, the mostly-awake part of his brain reminded him, was likely the spell that Uma had had put on him that morning. He'd felt like he was on fire-now, he realized, that it had been to heal him enough to tie him to the mast.

They'd known that Mal and Evie and Carlos and Jay would come for him, then. They had prepared for it. Gone so far as to make a spectacle out of it.

Whatever. Ben couldn't focus on that right now. Not when his entire body hurt like this. Not when Mal's hand was running up and down his side, cutting through the fog of pain that was drowning out the rest of the world.

Jay left his hand on Ben's shoulder as he spoke to Mal, Carlos, and Evie. From what Ben forced himself to listen to, they were trying to come up with a way to get everyone off the ship. It only seemed to take a few minutes, because they were suddenly moving across the deck.

Mal's mouth was at his ear again. "We're gonna get you off of this boat, but I don't think you're going to be able to walk, alright? We're going to carry you." She tilted her head up a little bit. Her lips pressed against his temple for one-two-three seconds. "I won't let you fall."

 _Mal. Mal. Mal._

Mal gingerly pulled away, turning him to face away from her, and pulled one of his arms over her shoulders. Another pair of hands did the same with his other arm. Even though he hadn't opened his eyes (mostly because he didn't have the strength to do so), he knew it Carlos on his other side. Jay was the one lifting his feet.

Ben was fairly sure that this was not very kingly, but his entire body hurt. He was in too much pain, too tired, too hot from the burning sun to care.

He stayed still (maybe that didn't matter so much because he couldn't really move anyway) and let them carry him without complaint. Mal whispered in his ear the entire time, but he couldn't make out what she was saying beyond "We've got you, we've got you."

They came to an abrupt halt a few minutes later. Ben was stood upright, though Mal situated them so that all of his weight was on her. _She's going to hurt herself,_ he thought.

"What do you want to do?" Carlos' voice asked no one in particular. "There's no way that we're going to be able to pull that off."

A pause. A girl's voice (one that Ben didn't recognize) responded, "Someone should go ahead and get the limo. If it's already here, that's less time that we're standing out in the open."

"I got it," Carlos said. His footsteps shook the deck as he took off running. Ben heard the jingle-jangle of car keys.

Suddenly, Mal's voice joined the conversation, still right by his ear. "I'll carry Ben up the ramp."

"No offense, Mal," the girl from before said. _Who is that? She sounds familiar._ She sounded placating, like she was trying not to upset Mal. "But I don't think that's such a good idea. You could hurt yourself or the King even worse."

Ben had spent so much time convincing his friends to stick with his name instead of his title. Now, he didn't have the strength to correct the girl. He was trying to think of a way to remember it by the time that he got back to the palace when Jay whispered to the girl, "He prefers the people at school and stuff to stick with Ben."

That settled it-Jay really did sound worried.

And he really had whispered, so he had to be pretty close for Ben to have heard him.

"How are you going to do that?" Jay asked. The question was obviously directed at the girl holding Ben upright.

She didn't reply to their friend. To Ben, she explained, "I'm going to use a spell to lift you up, okay? It won't hurt, and I'll stay right by you, just like this, and-"

Why did she sound so panicked by the thought of using her magic to help him? Her words were literally running over and into each other. He had to stop her-it was clear that that was their only option. That ramp was really steep. He would know-he'd been thrown down it and onto the deck the first night that he'd spent aboard the accursed ship.

"Mal," he forced himself to say. It burned, but she didn't hear him, so he repeated himself with all the strength he could put into his voice. " _Mal_."

She stopped at the sound of his voice. "Are you okay? Is there something I can-?" She sounded so scared. So worried about him. She readjusted her hold on him, and the words "Am I hurting you?" seemed to spill out of her mouth.

"I..." Even that word was a monumental effort. "Trust..." He hoped she understood what he was trying to tell her. Talking hurt so much, but he hated the fear in her voice. "You."

 _Mal. Mal. Mal._

She slowly nodded. Her chin was pressed against his temple. "Okay." Her voice sounded less freaked out, less terrified. _Progress_ , he told himself.

Mal whispered something, and Ben felt his body become lighter, like helium balloons. His feet rose into the air, along with his upper body, until he was level. His girlfriend's arms slid underneath him, just like she was carrying him, but not bearing the weight or safety risk.

It took forever to get up the ramp, but by the time that they did, the limo was just screeching to a stop in front of the boat's entrance.

"Hop in," Carlos called. The limo doors flew open.

Mal muttered something (probably to break the lifting spell she'd used) and her and Jay worked together to get Ben into the car. Now that the Sun was gone, and everything else hurt, he was slowly but surely developing more and more pain. He couldn't even move as Mal lifted his head and shoulders to sit down. She placed his head in her lap.

For the first time in two weeks, Ben passed smooth out, Mal's fingers running through his hair and across his jawline and neck.


	3. THANTOPHOBIA

_**Someone else's point of view for you. I feel like this friendship doesn't get enough credit, guys. Seriously. I feel like this is short, but the next couple of updates should be longer. Hope you enjoy it!**_

 _ **I've loved getting you guys' reviews and comments-the feedback means the world to me, and I am so happy that so many people enjoy this story! Thank y'all so much!**_

 _ **Please enjoy chapter three!**_

 _ **THANTOPHOBIA:**_ the fear of losing someone you love

 **JAY**

Good grief, it hurt to see his best friend like that.

He helped Mal lift Ben into the limo. Helped her get in, because she was trembling, even though he didn't think she knew it. Helped her lift Ben up enough that she could sit down, and then watched as she pulled the King down into her lap.

It felt like he was being dropped off the roof of a tall building.

Maybe it was just Carlos hitting the gas pedal.

Once, when he was younger, the leader of another group from the Isle had challenged Uma. Mal and Evie had decided that they would go with her as backup, even though half of her pirate crew would be there as well. He and Carlos thought they were out of their minds-it was insanely dangerous to get mixed up with challenges and power-grabs, and they knew that.

But Mal was being reckless, and that meant that the rest of them would be reckless with her.

The fight only lasted twenty minutes.

When it was over, Carlos wasn't standing beside him anymore, and that was because he'd been lying on the ground. Bleeding out. Because one of Uma's goons had swung for someone else and missed-Jay didn't really think that they missed, but he couldn't argue, because that was practically his _brother_ on the ground next to him-and hit Carlos instead.

That's what that felt like-watching someone that you would do anything for suffer. It was agonizing.

Carlos would've died if Evie hadn't known what to do. Harry Hook had actually found it within himself to help her patch up the Son of Cruella DeVil, and then help Jay carry him back to the ship. They'd stayed there until he was okay to travel, and then Mal portaled them back to their own hideout.

Jay had later discovered that the blade would've hit him instead, if Carlos hadn't moved in front of him at the last second. Evie had thought that Jay knew when she mentioned it. She hadn't realized that Carlos had never said anything. They'd never talked about it, not once, but he'd saved his life.

 _I should thank him one of these days,_ Jay told himself. _If Ben gets through this, I'll thank him for saving all of our lives, too._

He looked up at where his friend was passed out, his head resting in Mal's lap. Evie had moved to sit on Mal's other side, and was whispering in her ear. Trying to keep her cool, in case her magic freaked out and messed with the limo's navigation system.

Mal was running her fingers through Ben's hair.

The corner of Jay's mouth turned up. That's what Evie used to do, whenever any of them were struggling to sleep or concentrate or were stressed out. Mal had learned it from her, then, and was trying to keep the King as calm as she could-did she know that he had passed out?

Evie looked up and met his eyes. The look on her face said that, yes, _yes_ , Mal definitely knew, and _no_ , no one was allowed to mention it.

It only took a half-hour to cross the bridge and get headed in the direction of the castle. The rainbow bridge that had once seemed so impressive, so foreign, now seemed like too much. The pressure that it signified felt like it was drowning Jay, pressing down on his chest and crushing the life from him-what if Ben didn't make it? What if he hated the four of them for getting him mixed up in their pasts on the Isle?

Jay's concerns fell away a moment later, when, just outside the gates of the palace, a faint whisper quieted the entire group.

"Mal?"

Ben's voice sounded hoarse, like he hadn't had enough water, but also tired. He'd been through so much. What had been done to him?

Uma wasn't known for selling/ making cookies, and this was something that everyone from the Isle feared-the pirate captain may have been a terrible pirate, but if she got a hold of someone you loved... It was never good. It never ended well.

The violet-haired witch looked down at Ben, nearly doing a double take. "I'm right here, Ben." She paused, lifting her head just enough to flick her eyes around the limo. "We're all right here."

Whatever the King said next, Jay couldn't hear, but a tear ran down Mal's face. _Uh-oh._ He watched, stomach dropping for one of the two younger sisters he'd found the day that they met, as she tilted her head back. She was trying to blink back more tears.

Another minute passed. Finally, she gave up, leaned down, and buried her face in Ben's neck.

It had taken one tear of true sadness to break the love spell that Ben hadn't needed to love Mal.

Mal sobbed into Ben's shoulder.

The King could barely move, but he did his best to lift his arm to wrap around her. Eventually, Jay leaned over and helped his weakened best friend set his hand on Mal's back. He left his own hand on Ben's other shoulder, hoping that he could help too.

Jay met Carlos' eyes in the review mirror. He felt Evie's gaze on him a few feet away, and looked at her squarely as well. All three of them knew the cruel irony of the situation.

Ben had never needed a potion to fall in love with Mal. Mal had needed the security of knowing that it wasn't real, maybe, for her to let herself fall for him. But what did it take for her to admit that? Jay didn't even know if she ever would, honestly. He did know something else, though-it took Uma nearly killing Ben for Mal to be honest with her feelings, with herself.

Mal pulled herself together fairly quickly, but sat up and looked down at Ben. Loudly enough for everyone to hear, she promised, "I'm not leaving you ever, ever again Ben." She brushed a hand over his cheek. A matching smile broke across both of their faces, and Mal giggled, "Apparently, you can't resist getting yourself into trouble when I'm not around."

The King responded with a quip about her being all of his impulse control, but Jay couldn't completely make out what he said. It must've been funny; Mal's smile turned into a grin, a sunnier smile than he'd ever seen out of her.

Jay looked over at Evie. Her face must've mirrored his own to some degree-a little shocked, but not really, because Mal was just the sort of person to surprise you like that. The Daughter of the Evil Queen brushed a lock of blue hair from her face, then covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes glittered, even as they shined with unshed tears, and betrayed a silent laugh.

The castle grounds were far from empty when they arrived. Guards and pages were running all over the place. In just the minute it took for the limo to make it's way up the drive, Jay counted three different sets of people suffering head-on collisions.

"They've realized that Ben's gone," Carlos called from the front seat. "One of these buttons ought to open these stupid gates."

Jay felt Evie's mood switch across the aisle. "We need them to move," she hissed. "We have to get him inside, he needs medical attention!"

"'m fine, Eves," Ben said, suddenly, his voice slurred. Mal leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. With her other hand, she reached out to Evie, and slid her fingers around her best friend's hand.

The message in the gesture was clear: Mal would never be jealous of their friendship, but had likely done something to stabilize Ben as they'd traveled back to Auradon. That was her way of letting Evie know that he would be okay.

There was a near-silent squeak as the gates began to open, agonizingly slow. The Son of Jafar glared at them through the windshield, willing them to move faster. When they didn't, he returned his gaze to Mal and his best friend, who looked to be fighting sleep, his head still in her lap.

Not for the first time, Jay realized that it was jarring how much Ben mattered to all of them. In the year that they'd known him, he'd become a best friend to Jay, an older brother to Carlos and Evie. The love of Mal's life, it looked like.

"Of course you're fine, Ben, my dude," Carlos threw over his shoulder, taking the limo through the now-open gates. He was going slowly enough that everyone had plenty of time to get out of the way, but a few people still accidentally stepped in front of the vehicle. Each time, he rolled his eyes, his irritation tensing his shoulders.

The obvious miffed-ness did not show in his voice when he continued, "We've got you back home."


End file.
